Jason Arday, the Cambridge professor who resigned nine days ago over plagiarism allegations, was found dead in his London home.
Authorities said in a statement that an ambulance was called to his residence after Arday had been found &#8220;unresponsive.&#8221; He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police added that the death was being treated as “unexpected” but is not believed to be suspicious, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/08/14/jason-arday-found-dead/">according</a> to The Telegraph. 
Just nine days ago, Cambridge launched an investigation into Arday. “The University of Cambridge has begun an investigation following new information about Professor Arday’s academic qualifications and honorary appointments,” the statement from the university said. “In order to ensure a fair process, we will not comment further until this has concluded.&#8221;
Cambridge was not initially keen on opening an investigation. Cambridge said Arday was “the victim of a vile campaign to undermine his credibility, which must stop.” The school began to change its tune when reports emerged that Arday had filed a harassment claim against a journalist who was investigating his work. The day that Cambridge announced its investigation, Arday resigned. 
“I no longer wish to feel as though I am living under a constant spotlight, where every aspect of my life is subject to public examination and judgement,” Arday <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/books/review/cambridge-jason-arday-resignation-investigation.html">said</a>. 
The scandal broke just days before his memoir was supposed to be published. His book, &#8220;Great and Unfortunate Things,&#8221; was still published on Tuesday, but now faces questions of its own. The book centered on his life with autism and other disabilities. 
Arday said he learned to read and write at eighteen, went on to earn his Ph.D., and joined the faculty at Cambridge. Journalists and academics are questioning some of Arday&#8217;s claims, including whether he really ran thirty marathons in thirty-five days, and if he raised 5.5 million British pounds for charity, as he states in his memoir. 
Arday did not respond to the attacks on his book, but attributed mistakes in his early work to his autism and lack of supervision from professors. “While criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, what I have experienced has gone far beyond scholarly disagreement,” he wrote. “The relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love,” he said. 
The day before his book came out, he <a href="https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/jason-arday-cancels-book-tour-plagiarism-claims-5HjdfpJ_2/">canceled</a> his book tour events. He would be found dead just four days later. 
The Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2026/aug/01/playbooks-plagiarism-pigs-head-new-claims-surrounding-cambridge-professor-jason-arday">reported</a> that academics became critical of Arday. “I think it’s plagiarism and it’s obvious,” said an academic who spoke on condition of anonymity. Another said Arday’s fallout “could send shockwaves through academia and set the study of race in Britain back twenty years.”

Screenshot 2026-08-14 at 4.55.12 PM

Professor Recently Outed For Fraudulent Biography Found Dead

Cambridge University

Jason Arday

Race

Life is too comfortable for too many progressives these days, particularly the younger ones. Modern America offers every available comfort to them, both materially and legally. When my grandparents were coming up in the &#8217;40s and &#8217;50s, their options were a lot more limited — because of race, class, and wealth. A black man working his way to the top of a profession looked a lot different back then than it does now. State and federal law has endured a long tailoring process involving DEI, critical race theory, and a lot of lawsuits. We even went to war over our slavery issue, and the Civil Rights era remains one of our most hallowed movements, on the Right and the Left.
Women are able to engage in every part of civic and public life — military, law enforcement,  leadership, corporate headship, etc. Even the world of professional sports has opened up to women in a new and exciting way over the past couple of decades. Women have more access to career and income than ever before.
Even still, with all these advancements, we are treated to a nonstop litany from progressives about the hardships of their sex, race, or ethnicity. The drumbeat is always the same: We don’t have what other people have, and it’s not fair. 
Case in point: WNBA star Angel Reese. Reese recently received one of the highest honors my 8-year-old self could have ever imagined: Mattel has released an Angel Reese Barbie doll. In a press conference where she was asked about it, Reese explained it was a special moment for her. She said when she was growing up, she didn’t have access to dolls and toys that looked like her. 
Reese was born in 2002. Not 1950. Not 1970. 2002. 
Christie Barbie first dropped in the 1960s. The 1970s brought us Cara Barbie and Carla Barbie. In the 1980s, we saw a black Ken (Malibu Barbie). Black supermodels such as Tyra Banks, Naomi  Campbell, and Beverly Johnson have all had Barbies fashioned after them, all prior to Angel Reese’s birth. Tyra Banks even did a Barbie-come-to-life movie in 2000 called &#8220;Life-Size.&#8221;
Barack Obama was elected the president of the United States in 2008, just six years after Reese was born. It doesn’t get much more representative than that.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1156233" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1156233" class="size-medium wp-image-1156233" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2288945969-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2288945969-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2288945969-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2288945969-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2288945969.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images</div>
Why would Reese say such an absurd and easily disprovable thing in 2026? It reminds me of the time actress Jennifer Lawrence went on a podcast and said playing her &#8220;Hunger Games&#8221; character was the first time a woman had led a major action movie. Sigourney Weaver would beg to differ. 
Lawrence and Reese are victims of comfort. In a society in which victimhood is the most valuable public currency, these women and others like them face the dilemma of being extremely successful while simultaneously trying to appear oppressed. They have had opportunities most people in the world can only dream of, and those opportunities are unique to American life: movie stardom, professional athletics, millions of dollars in payments and sponsorships.
Every opportunity has been afforded to them, and they were wise enough and talented enough to take advantage of those opportunities. But the money only keeps flowing in that direction if the complaints keep flowing. Their stories aren’t all that interesting to the struggle-session crowd, so what do they do? They borrow the stories of others.  
That’s where Angel Reese is right now and why the lie slipped so easily from her mouth. Her story is uninteresting to the left-wing media. She came from a boring old nuclear family where both parents were basketball players, attended a private school and then college, and from there went straight into the WNBA. She’s been privileged from the start and had all the greatest examples and mentors from the start, but she can’t tell that story because there are no victims in it.
She can’t even tell a story about how no one in public life (or in toy life) looked like her at the time. In 2008, we were already in an era of commercial and public diversity; we need look no further than our president at the time. In 2026, the &#8220;diversity&#8221; mission is statistically complete — and then some. 
Reese grew up in the era of &#8220;representation.&#8221; She works in a business built on representation: women’s professional sports. She has a job that many young women before her could only dream of. She would have to work incredibly hard to find examples in her own life of where black people or women weren’t represented. Instead, she simply borrowed someone else’s story — the story of my grandparents, or even her own. The story of generations of activists who came before us, who had to give of their own blood, sweat, and tears to be afforded an opportunity at peace, let alone material success. She borrowed from stories that were authentically frustrating and authentically powerful. 
This is sad because Angel Reese is a truly talented and accomplished woman. There is no doubt she has worked hard to get to the top of her career. Instead of being proud of it and telling that story, she commandeers a different story because she believes it is better than her own. 
It is not. Her story is hers alone to tell, and that’s what makes her unique and her position in life so powerful. She has influence beyond the dreams of many Americans, but she chooses to lead with victimhood rather than her own journey because she doesn’t see her journey as incredible.
We have not properly taught America’s children to covet their own stories and be grateful for them. Reese tells a stolen narrative because in a culture where victimhood is prime currency, her own story is just too comfortable.
***
This is republished with permission by the author. The original can be found <a href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-210243352?selection=5a31f461-5414-4a85-95e8-344e41c29435#:~:text=Reese%20grew%20up%20in%20the%20era%20of%20%E2%80%98representation">here</a>.
Kira Davis is a political writer, a podcaster, and the author of &#8220;Drawing Lines: Why Conservatives Must Begin to Battle Fiercely in the Arena of Ideas.&#8221;

GettyImages-2288657532

Controversial WNBA Star’s Victimhood Claim Runs Into One Big Problem

Angel Reese

Barbie

Oppression

Upstream

WNBA

Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington is stonewalling after triggering an uproar with her viral &#8220;WHITE PRIVILEGE&#8221; social media post after she was ejected for leveling Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham with a brutal blow to the face on a layup attempt.
The firestorm erupted during Chicago’s 90-86 loss to Indiana on Saturday, when <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/black-player-clocks-sophie-cunningham-then-complains-about-white-privilege-after-ejection">Carrington’s hit</a> on Cunningham drew blood. Officials upgraded the initial call to a Flagrant 2 upon video review, triggering Carrington’s instant ejection.
Before the sweat even dried, Carrington posted a cryptically aggressive message to her Threads account: &#8220;WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever.&#8221;
On Monday, when she was asked about her Threads post, she <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/11/sports/dijonai-carrington-breaks-silence-on-sophie-cunningham-drama-bringing-white-privilege-concerns-to-wnba/">responded</a>, “I already spoke with people who potentially will have the agency to create the change that I’m hoping comes about from not just this incident, but ones in the past and that are obviously going to be coming up in the near future, probably.”
&#8220;It was unfortunate that I made contact with her in the way that I did, but it was never intentional,&#8221; Carrington <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/08/10/dijonai-carrington-says-white-privilege-post-goes-beyond-flagrant-foul">told</a> the Chicago Sun-Times. &#8220;And, look, it might happen again. That’s just how I play. I’m gonna always go all out.&#8221;
Carrington shifted her focus to WNBA officials, saying, “Whether it’s the foul that I committed, whether it’s the reaction, the retaliation, I would just love it to be consistent across the board regardless of the name on your jersey or your skin color or the score of the game, the stakes, whatever. I would love there to just be consistency when it comes to all of that. I don’t think we’re there yet. That’s something that I’ve talked to the league about as well. I think that will eliminate a lot of the frustrations that we all have.”
Carrington also took aim at podcast host Emmanuel Acho, who blasted her Threads post, saying, &#8220;If we are paying attention to what DiJonai Carrington did to Sophie Cunningham, it was not a race-based decision. And to call that a &#8216;white privilege&#8217;-based foul is to completely undermine the term of white privilege and to also completely ignore the rules in basketball. You hit her in the head; you drew blood; you didn&#8217;t connect with the ball at all whatsoever. So to me, it was just very ignorant and to some degree asinine by DiJonai Carrington to suggest that that call was based on white privilege.&#8221;
Carrington shot back, &#8220;I’ve never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege (that was your assumption). Try exercising your critical thinking skills, I know you studied psych. Furthermore, I’m the LAST thing from ignorant or asinine when it comes to speaking on &#8216;white privilege.'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I’ve never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege (that was your assumption). Try exercising your critical thinking skills, I know you studied psych. Furthermore, I’m the LAST thing from ignorant or asinine when it comes to speaking on “white privilege”,… <a href="https://t.co/mykXGTtiXJ">https://t.co/mykXGTtiXJ</a>
&mdash; dιjonaι carrιngтon♛ (@DijonaiVictoria) <a href="https://x.com/DijonaiVictoria/status/2086912218457862229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Indiana Fever v Chicago Sky

WNBA Player Who Leveled Sophie Cunningham Doubles Down On ‘White Privilege’ Comment

Basketball

Sophie Cunningham

White Privilege

A WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky turned nasty on Saturday when Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was leveled on a breakaway layup by Sky guard DiJonai Carrington.
Carrington struck Cunningham across the face with her forearm after Cunningham had left her feet for a layup. Cunningham hit the ground hard, but quickly got to her feet and got in the face of Carrington, shoving the Sky player as she was held back by teammates.
After officials reviewed the play, Carrington was assessed a flagrant 2, resulting in an automatic ejection.
&#8220;The foul on DiJonai Carrington has flagrant foul penalty 2, since there&#8217;s wind-up, impact, and follow-through — high-potential for injury for players in a vulnerable position,&#8221; the referee announced to the crowd.
Carrington and the Chicago bench were stunned by the decision, but the ESPN commentators immediately expected a flagrant 2 to be called after the play. Carrington, however, was enraged and <a href="https://www.threads.com/@dijonai/post/DbyqmQXj8Uk?xmt=AQG0YVN3u_3ZZ1dQLvLA4rwZGtUNzVlW6DPBP_HhLlEzxw">posted</a> on social media from the locker room, &#8220;WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever.&#8221;
The incident comes as Cunningham has upset many players and coaches in the WNBA for her stance on keeping men out of women&#8217;s sports. Cunningham&#8217;s comments on protecting women&#8217;s sports have resulted in pushback from the WNBA media and even a WNBA head coach, including Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/espn-praises-wnba-coach-after-trans-sports-jab-at-sophie-cunningham">wore</a> a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt during her team&#8217;s game against Cunningham and the Fever earlier this week.
“I would encourage anyone to go and listen to Cheryl Reeve’s comments; incredibly thoughtful, easy to find online. I would just encourage anyone to go and listen,” ESPN Lobo color analyst Rebecca Lobo said of the issue of men in women&#8217;s sports.
Fans supporting Cunningham and her message have also faced backlash, including at a Fever game in Seattle last week when two teenage girls holding signs in support of Cunningham were harassed by Seattle fans and the Seattle Storm&#8217;s co-owner.
For her part, Cunningham has not backed down after the backlash.
“I’m not a very political person, but I do have beliefs,” she said. “I have morals, and I’ll always stand on those and be true to who I am, and I think people are going to take it how they want to take it. … When it comes to protecting young girls in sport and women in sport, I feel very strongly about that.”

Black Player Clocks Sophie Cunningham Then Complains About ‘White Privilege’ After Ejection

Indiana Fever

A Minnesota jury found a woman guilty of disorderly conduct after she repeatedly used the racial slur &#8220;n*gger&#8221; during a confrontation at a playground. 
Thirty-seven-year-old Shiloh Marie Hendrix was captured on video as a bystander confronted her for allegedly directing the racial slur at an autistic child. Although the alleged remark itself was not captured on video, the bystander urged Hendrix to repeat it while recording the encounter.
Rochester City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage charged Hendrix with two counts of disorderly conduct, one for her alleged behavior toward the child and the other for her confrontation with the bystander. A jury acquitted Hendrix on the first count but convicted her on the second, finding her guilty of disorderly conduct for directing the racial slur at Omar rather than the child. 
She was sentenced to one year of supervised probation, fined $1,000, and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service. She faces a 90-day jail sentence only if she violates the terms of her probation.
The man who recorded the confrontation, Sharmake Beyle Omar, was previously charged in a sexual assault case involving a 16-year-old girl. Prosecutors later <a href="https://www.kimt.com/news/charges-dropped-against-rochester-men-accused-of-sexually-abusing-a-teen-victim/article_461bf354-a3ff-11ed-bedb-d329b9d4dcb6.html">dismissed</a> those charges &#8220;in the interest of justice.&#8221; 
According to the criminal <a href="https://fromthegman.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Hendrix-Complaint.pdf">complaint</a>, the confrontation began after an eight-year-old autistic boy took an applesauce pouch from Hendrix’s diaper bag. Both Hendrix and the boy’s father chased the child as he climbed onto playground equipment in an attempt to get away. Hendrix allegedly shouted at him and repeatedly used the racial slur. 
While recording on his phone, Omar asked Hendrix why she called the child the racial slur, noting that the boy was autistic. Hendrix replied that she used the word because “he acts like one” and said he had taken her son’s belongings. When Omar continued confronting her, Hendrix responded, “I don’t give a sh*t and f*ck off.” 
Hendrix’s attorney blasted the verdict.
“I think it’s pathetic,” defense attorney Brian Karalus <a href="https://x.com/Tomhennessey69/status/2080543001323978782">said</a>. “I think it’s sad. I think it’s sick … this is a fraud upon the community.” 
Karalus argued the government was “prosecuting a young lady for language,” and this trial was the result of cancel culture. He added that Hendrix’s choice of words was inappropriate but that there is a difference between inappropriate and illegal. 
Prosecutor Nicholas Shabel argued jurors should consider both Hendrix’s conduct and her language.  
Shabel argued that Hendrix&#8217;s “screaming at the child, her demeanor, her language all speak to this. All of those are appropriate for your consideration,” said Shabel.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) set up a GoFundMe for the child, raising more than $340,000. 
The incident drew backlash from conservatives. 
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh <a href="https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/2080623002824200284">said</a>, “The Shiloh Hendrix case isn&#8217;t even a close call or a grey area. She was charged and convicted of a crime for saying a word. If that&#8217;s not a violation of the First Amendment, nothing is. This is one of the most straightforward free speech issues we&#8217;ve seen in a long time.”

Screenshot 2026-07-24 at 3.59.23 PM

Playground Slur Case Takes Dark Turn For Free Speech

child

Court

Free Speech

Jail

language

Matt Walsh

Minnesota

NAACP

Racial Discrimination

U.S.

Protesters descended upon Madison, Wisconsin, on Wednesday after a video circulated on social media showing police as they shot and killed a black man who authorities say was armed with a knife and resisting arrest in the middle of a street.
On Wednesday evening and throughout the night, leftist protesters <a href="https://x.com/JTCestkowski/status/2080120130999095700">decried</a> &#8220;racist police.&#8221; Even mainstream Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley <a href="https://x.com/DavidCCrowley/status/2080073675001282940">said</a> he was &#8220;horrified by the reports &#8230; about a man who was shot and killed in the street by police officers.&#8221;
The video and the official account from authorities of the deadly incident tell a different story, however, and suggest that some leftists are once again jumping to a racial narrative while ignoring the details around the shooting.
The graphic <a href="https://x.com/WISN12News/status/2080093956612767765">video footage</a>, which was captured by a bystander, begins as three Madison police officers wrestle a man in the street and try to detain him. A fourth officer jumped into the scuffle and drew her taser as an officer was heard yelling, &#8220;He&#8217;s got a knife, he&#8217;s got a knife!&#8221; as the suspect pulled out a fixed-blade knife and injured one of the officers during the scuffle, according to Madison Police Chief John Patterson in a <a href="https://www.wkow.com/news/crime/man-dies-after-madison-police-shooting-near-baldwin-and-williamson-streets/article_98f43f1f-cb53-435d-83c8-cbc82793f6cf.html">press briefing</a>.
The female officer then fired her taser at the suspect at least two times before he fell to the ground. The injured officer, who Patterson described as a veteran of the police force, drew his handgun and fired three shots after the suspect fell to the ground. The suspect, a black man believed to be in his 30s, later died at an area hospital after officers performed life-saving measures on him following the shooting.
Chief Patterson said that all four officers were placed on administrative leave as the department reviews the deadly shooting, but he added that the incident was inflamed because the suspect initially fled from officers and then pulled a knife on them during the arrest.
&#8220;When a knife is produced during officers&#8217; apprehension arrests, the overall situation is clearly elevated. It becomes incredibly dangerous, and it obviously increases risks for everyone there, for every officer, for the person as well,&#8221; Patterson said. &#8220;I think it severely narrows the scope of options and possible outcomes.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m grateful there were not more serious injuries inflicted to those officers,&#8221; he added. &#8220;But I again, convey my sympathies sincerely to [the victim&#8217;s] family.&#8221;
One other police officer was also injured in the incident, but authorities don&#8217;t believe the injury was caused by the suspect&#8217;s knife.
The suspect was pursued by officers after they received a call for a person who was allegedly looking at parked vehicles. When police found the man and attempted to talk to him, he fled on a bicycle and &#8220;traveled through some nearby backyards,&#8221; Patterson said. The suspect &#8220;either fell off or was taken off of the bicycle by officers&#8221; in the street before the officers grabbed him.
Just seconds after the shooting, anger erupted on Madison&#8217;s streets as a woman was heard on the video shouting at the police officers.
“I saw everything! You did not need to kill him!” the woman yelled.
The anger festered into the evening as protesters <a href="https://x.com/simonrl18/status/2080086435164483969">disrupted</a> a free outdoor concert put on by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. In another part of town, protesters <a href="https://x.com/SchulteLaura/status/2080056240252600567">chanted</a> &#8220;arrest that cop&#8221; as they stood next to a group of Madison police officers.
Wisconsin Democratic Governor Tony Evers suggested the protests were likely to continue in the coming days and <a href="https://x.com/GovEvers/status/2080124195657097643">said</a>, &#8220;There must be transparency and accountability&#8221; as investigations into the shooting move forward.
&#8220;We will continue to keep the loved ones and family of the individual who was killed in our hearts and prayers. His life mattered,&#8221; Evers <a href="https://x.com/GovEvers/status/2080124197087440939">added</a>. &#8220;As folks exercise their First Amendment rights tonight and in the days ahead, we urge them to do so peacefully and respectfully.&#8221;

Madison city police vehicles

Protesters Jump On Race Narrative After Video Captures Deadly Police Shooting

Leftists

Police

Protest

Shooting

Wisconsin

So-called racial justice activist and civil rights attorney Lee Merritt was tapped by the Karmelo Anthony family to assemble the convicted murderer&#8217;s new legal team.
Anthony was convicted earlier this month for the murder of Austin Metcalf, 17, and has been sentenced to 35 years behind bars. The Anthony family has made clear that they will fight the conviction.
&#8220;Immediately after the conviction, Karmelo Anthony’s father reached out to me and asked for help assembling a new legal team to fight for his son’s future,&#8221; Merritt posted to X on Tuesday. &#8220;From that moment, we have been working nonstop to bring together experienced appellate and civil rights attorneys to review every aspect of this case and pursue relief through the courts.&#8221;
Merritt has worked with the families in high-profile racially-charged cases, including those of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. He&#8217;s also known for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX_ked2jJGs">advancing</a> false rape and kidnapping claims against a Texas trooper, before body cam debunked the accusations.
&#8220;Today’s filing, formally replacing prior counsel and placing this new team on the record, is the first step in that process,&#8221; Merritt continued. &#8220;We remain committed to ensuring that Karmelo receives a full and fair review of his conviction and sentence, consistent with both the evidence and the law.&#8221;
&#8220;This is not about headlines; it is about due process, accountability, and the pursuit of justice for a young man whose life now depends on what happens on appeal,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Immediately after the conviction, Karmelo Anthony’s father reached out to me and asked for help assembling a new legal team to fight for his son’s future. From that moment, we have been working nonstop to bring together experienced appellate and civil rights attorneys to review… <a href="https://t.co/m4UQoDxlCv">pic.twitter.com/m4UQoDxlCv</a>
— Lee Merritt (@LeeMerrittesq) <a href="https://x.com/LeeMerrittesq/status/2069226547605639631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
The new legal team includes Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe, appellate lawyer Russell Wilson II, and civil rights attorney Brooke Cluse, as first reported by TMZ. Journalist Sarah Fields highlighted on Tuesday that Cluse joined Ben Crump Law in 2023 and currently serves as chief of staff and executive liaison to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/from-michael-brown-to-makhia-bryant-meet-the-lawyer-whose-false-claims-fueled-a-generation-of-black-lives-matter-violence">Crump</a>, another widely known racial activist and attorney. Crump was involved in the racially charged cases of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, and Michael Brown, wherein he notably propagated the false “hands up, don’t shoot!” narrative.
Fields reported that Bledsoe was recently called out by a judge for potential misuse of artificial intelligence in a filing, but was able to dodge sanctions after an apology.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW LEGAL TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR KARMELO ANTHONY APPEAL
A team including Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe, appellate attorney Russell Wilson II, and civil rights attorney Brooke Cluse has announced it is taking over Karmelo Anthony’s case and “will pursue all available avenues of… <a href="https://t.co/CWDkSepFSP">pic.twitter.com/CWDkSepFSP</a>
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) <a href="https://x.com/SarahisCensored/status/2069180441312313622?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
Days after Anthony was sentenced for the Metcalf murder, he claimed in a court filing that he was broke and couldn&#8217;t afford legal representation, despite the Anthony family receiving more than $635,000 through a crowdfunding campaign.
A filing formally requested a court-appointed appellate attorney, stating that Anthony is a “penniless, destitute, and indigent person, too poor to employ counsel to represent me on the appeal,” <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/frisco-murder-trial/one-day-after-conviction-karmelo-anthony-files-notice-of-appeal-and-says-he-cant-afford-a-lawyer/287-6c56a100-fea6-4d7e-87b6-b95370305c3f">according to WFAA.</a>
During an interview on &#8220;The Will Cain Show,&#8221; Jeff Metcalf, father of Austin Metcalf, <a href="https://x.com/WillCainShow/status/2069185680962416684">said</a> the Anthony family was monetizing his son&#8217;s death. Jeff said Anthony&#8217;s parents left the courtroom for the reading of victim-impact statements and for their son&#8217;s sentencing.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fck-austin-karmelo-anthony-supporters-harass-threaten-friends-of-slain-teen-outside-courthouse?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘F*ck+Austin%21’%3A+Karmelo+Anthony+Supporters+Harass%2C+Threaten+Friends+Of+Slain+Teen+Outside+Courthouse">‘F*ck Austin!’: Karmelo Anthony Supporters Harass, Threaten Friends Of Slain Teen Outside Courthouse</a>

ANTHONY TRIAL DAY 7_2026_0609

The Latest Development In Karmelo Anthony’s Case Comes With Baggage

Karmelo Anthony Family Taps Notorious Race Hustler For Appeal Fight

Austin Metcalf

Karmelo Anthony

Texas

Leftist civil rights leaders and race hustlers condemned the guilty verdict in Karmelo Anthony’s trial, claiming it was unjust and racist.
Anthony was convicted of murder on Tuesday after just two and a half hours of deliberations over the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, in April 2025. While Anthony&#8217;s family peddled claims that he was targeted for his race and that Metcalf provoked him, video evidence shows that Anthony refused requests that he leave the track team&#8217;s tent before he stabbed Metcalf.
Despite the evidence and the quick verdict, some black leftists claimed the outcome was racially motivated. 
Dominique Alexander, a Dallas-based civil rights leader, political activist, and founder of the Next Generation Action Network, <a href="https://x.com/JayTC53/status/2064438950589354412">said</a>, “Black America should be very upset about what went on today.” He called the verdict “flawed” and &#8220;unjust.&#8221; 
The case’s result tells people that “black lives do not matter in the criminal justice system,” according to Alexander. It shows racism in law, Alexander said, demonstrating that black people will “be afforded the same laws as anybody else.” He added that he is not “playing the race card,” but presenting the fact that black people have suffered from these laws for 400 years.
A <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZYM6qEBiZ6/?igsh=MTk3NTdtOXVyb2g1aA%3D%3D">post</a> shared on Instagram by Dr. Umar Johnson, a motivational speaker and author who has dubbed himself &#8220;prince of Pan-Africanism,&#8221; compared the Anthony case to the infamous Dred Scott decision of 1857, claiming that Anthony was “lynched by an all-white jury.” The post shared by Johnson also claimed that &#8220;black people aren’t allowed to defend themselves” and that there is “no justice!” 
<div id="attachment_1113393" style="width: 586px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1113393" class="wp-image-1113393 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Untitled-design-2026-06-10T123751.432-576x576.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Untitled-design-2026-06-10T123751.432-576x576.jpg 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Untitled-design-2026-06-10T123751.432-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Untitled-design-2026-06-10T123751.432-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Untitled-design-2026-06-10T123751.432-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Untitled-design-2026-06-10T123751.432.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px" />Instagram — Dr. Umar Johnson</div>
<a href="https://x.com/AttorneyCrump/status/2064443533365264462">Ben Crump</a>, a prominent American civil rights attorney, said the case presents “hard questions about fairness, justice, and whose actions earn the benefit of understanding.”
&#8220;Those questions are not new, and we owe it to every family touched by this to keep asking them,&#8221; Crump added.
Civil rights attorney and CNN contributor Areva Martin also <a href="https://x.com/ArevaMartin/status/2064457541699178591">said</a> that Anthony’s verdict “raises questions.”
&#8220;This case is far from over. We should expect an appeal, including challenges related to the exclusion of Black jurors,&#8221; Martin added. &#8220;Faith in our courts requires more than a conviction or an acquittal. It requires confidence that every defendant was afforded a fair trial.&#8221;
Martin said that the reason this verdict will be difficult for the “African American community” to accept is due to the exclusion of “all of the black potential jurors.” Multiple black witnesses, however, said that Anthony was in the wrong and spoke highly of Metcalf. Martin also argued that Anthony pulled out the knife because he was “fearful of his life” and believed he would be injured, despite the fact that Metcalf said he would not fight Anthony.
Not everyone in the black community is upset by the verdict. Judge Glenda Hatchett, the prominent American attorney, author, and television personality, said in a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DZYXUqhTSSh/">video</a> on Instagram that she did not find a “basis for self-defense.” The testimony did not show &#8220;his life was in danger” or that it “justified the fatal stabbing,” according to Hatchett.
Coming from a “mother’s heart,” Hatchett said that parents must teach their children how to “think clearly” in these situations.
“He was not supposed to be in the tent,” Hatchett said. “He was asked to leave the tent. Why not just leave the tent?”

Leftist Race Hustlers Enraged After Karmelo Anthony Verdict: ‘Lynched By An All-White Jury’

Murder

trial

A number of devastating revelations against the defense team came to light this past week in the murder trial of Karmelo Anthony.
Anthony, who admitted to fatally stabbing 17-year-old student Austin Metcalf at a track meet in April 2025, is facing a first-degree murder charge and life in prison. The case has been tinged by race in the public, due to the glaring lack of mainstream media coverage and the narrative peddled by Anthony family advocates and supporters. Anthony is black and Metcalf is white.
<h3>Defense race narrative out the window </h3>
Though Anthony&#8217;s team has tried to make race a component of the murder — both inside and outside of the courtroom — witnesses have disrupted that narrative so far. A number of teen witnesses called to the stand by the state have been black, and they&#8217;ve all said Anthony was in the wrong, provoking the situation and not acting in self-defense. Though specific identities cannot be revealed because the witnesses are minors, Texas bureau chief for The Daily Mail, MaryAnn Martinez, posted on Friday that four out of the six teens who testified were black.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We have now heard from six teens who were at the stadium the day Austin Metcalf was stabbed by Karmelo Anthony. Four out of the six are black . All have testified that Karmelo Anthony was asked to leave the Memorial HS team tent, provoked Austin Metcalf, and pulled a knife… <a href="https://t.co/5pQh7S83Zm">https://t.co/5pQh7S83Zm</a>
— MaryAnn Martinez (@MaryAnnreports) <a href="https://x.com/MaryAnnreports/status/2063012479127654848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
In an emotional moment, one witness who knew both Anthony and the slain teen broke down crying about the murder, saying of Austin, &#8220;That was my brother, that was my brother that got stabbed.&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/SarahisCensored">Investigative journalist Sarah Fields</a>, who was in the courtroom, said the teen was asked if this was about race, to which he responded, &#8220;No, Austin was a leader and he protected us.&#8221; Fields also noted while reporting the testimony, &#8220;A large majority of these witnesses are not white.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Part three of thread <a href="https://t.co/4AGJVlhM3p">pic.twitter.com/4AGJVlhM3p</a>
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) <a href="https://x.com/SarahisCensored/status/2063769220215718219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
Martinez reported that one student, who is black, &#8220;wanted to attack Anthony&#8221; after the stabbing. &#8220;The teammate explained that he was on the football team with Austin and he considered him family,&#8221; Martinez said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
New state witness Vincent Cooper, a coach at Frisco ISD, is now testifying how he was assigned to manage Karmelo Anthony after the stabbing and stop him from leaving the football stadium. Later, Cooper was asked to calm down a teammate of Austin Metcalf (pictured below) who was… <a href="https://t.co/NwwwB003dZ">pic.twitter.com/NwwwB003dZ</a>
— MaryAnn Martinez (@MaryAnnreports) <a href="https://x.com/MaryAnnreports/status/2062651763853873567?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
Notably, the defense team unsuccessfully objected when the jury was selected since no one on the jury is black. Supporters of Anthony outside the courthouse have also made racial remarks and denigrated Metcalf.
<h3>Anthony provoked the encounter</h3>
The defense team is offering a self-defense narrative, saying that Anthony was under Metcalf&#8217;s school&#8217;s track tent to seek shelter from bad weather. Some witnesses, however, say Anthony was asked to leave up to 15 times by different people and refused. He insulted the school&#8217;s football team, called those under the tent &#8220;p*ssies,&#8221; and called Metcalf a &#8220;b*tch,&#8221; according to testimony.
Anthony threatened Metcalf, who told him, &#8220;I&#8217;m not going to fight you at a track meet, bro,&#8221; a witness said, according to Fields&#8217; reporting. Anthony fatally stabbed the teen after Metcalf softly pushed or shoved him.
Additionally, some witnesses said Anthony was not fully sheltered beneath the tent before the confrontation, suggesting he wasn&#8217;t merely seeking shelter from hard rain. Others also said heavy rainfall occurred after the stabbing.
<h3>Defense witness says Anthony was wrong</h3>
In another key moment for the prosecution, a witness who was called to testify by the defense team on Saturday plainly stated that Anthony was &#8220;in the wrong.&#8221; The following exchange, <a href="https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/karmelo-anthony-murder-trial-frisco-day-3/4032788/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">reported</a> by NBC DFW, is between a teenage defense witness and Bill Wirskye, the lead prosecutor:
<blockquote>&#8220;You didn&#8217;t expect for there to be a stabbing?&#8221; Wirskye asked.
&#8220;No, sir,&#8221; the witness answered.
[&#8230;]
&#8220;Who was in the wrong that morning?&#8221; Wirskye asked.
&#8220;I think Karmelo was in the wrong,&#8221; the witness answered.
&#8220;Karmelo provoked this, didn&#8217;t he?&#8221; Wirskye asked.
&#8220;Yes, sir,&#8221; the witness answered.</blockquote>
The defense will continue to call witnesses to the stand on Monday.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/race-narrative-kicked-into-overdrive-after-jury-selected-in-austin-metcalf-murder-trial">Race Narrative Kicked Into Overdrive After Jury Selected In Austin Metcalf Murder Trial</a>

Screenshot 2025-04-05 at 9.43.51 AM

3 Key Moments From The Karmelo Anthony Trial You Should Know

The family of accused murderer Karmelo Anthony appears to be amping up allegations of racial bias after reports indicated Wednesday that no black jurors have been selected for Anthony&#8217;s trial.
Anthony, a 19-year-old black male, was charged with first-degree murder after he fatally stabbed high school student Austin Metcalf, who is white, at a track event in April 2025 in Frisco, Texas.
Anthony&#8217;s defense team challenged the prosecution striking potential black jurors from the jury pool, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJFT2uoOscI">according</a> to FOX 4. The judge denied the challenge, since jury selection was not based on race.
A spokesman for the Anthony family, Dominique Alexander, took to numerous social media platforms to complain about the jury selection. On X, he reposted a statement from Next Generation Action Network, an organization for which he serves as president. 
&#8220;The Next Generation Action Network is outraged by today’s jury selection process in the Karmelo Anthony trial,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;The prosecution used its final strikes to remove the remaining qualified Black jurors from the jury pool, raising serious concerns about fairness and equal justice.&#8221;
&#8220;We respect the court, but we will not remain silent,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;NGAN will continue monitoring this case and informing the public every step of the way. Every person deserves a fair trial and confidence that justice is being administered without bias. We are calling on the court to ensure Mr. Anthony’s constitutional rights are fully protected. <a class="css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3 r-1loqt21" dir="ltr" role="link" href="https://x.com/hashtag/FairTrial?src=hashtag_click">#FairTrial</a> <a class="css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3 r-1loqt21" dir="ltr" role="link" href="https://x.com/hashtag/EqualJustice?src=hashtag_click">#EqualJustice</a> <a class="css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3 r-1loqt21" dir="ltr" role="link" href="https://x.com/hashtag/NGAN?src=hashtag_click">#NGAN</a>.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Next Generation Action Network is outraged by today’s jury selection process in the Karmelo Anthony trial. The prosecution used its final strikes to remove the remaining qualified Black jurors from the jury pool, raising serious concerns about fairness and equal justice.
We…
— Next Generation Action Network (NGAN) (@NextGenAction) <a href="https://x.com/NextGenAction/status/2062297348789752311?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
Journalist Sarah Fields reported on Wednesday that no black jurors had been selected, and the jury will not be sequestered for the trial.
&#8220;The jury has been selected in the Karmelo Anthony trial,&#8221; she posted online. &#8220;Karmelo Anthony supporters are angry because there are no African Americans on the jury.&#8221;
&#8220;Also, up until now, we were under the impression that the jury would be sequestered. They were not,&#8221; Fields added. &#8220;This means jurors will return home each day rather than being isolated for the duration of the trial.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: The jury has been selected in the Karmelo Anthony trial.
Karmelo Anthony supporters are angry because there are no African Americans on the jury.
Also, up until now, we were under the impression that the jury would be sequestered.
They were not.
This means jurors…
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) <a href="https://x.com/SarahisCensored/status/2062300230922420554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
About two weeks after Metcalf was killed, Alexander held a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/family-of-karmelo-anthony-hosted-the-most-disgusting-press-conference-ive-ever-seen">jarring press conference</a> on behalf of the Anthony family. He stoked racial tensions and scolded Jeff Metcalf, the father of the slain teen, for asking if he could pray with the Anthony family. Metcalf was removed from the presser.
As previously noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/family-of-karmelo-anthony-hosted-the-most-disgusting-press-conference-ive-ever-seen">The Daily Wire</a>, Alexander has a disturbing criminal history himself, including a conviction for child abuse involving his girlfriend&#8217;s 2-year-old son, who suffered a brain bleed. He was also indicted in 2019 on a felony family-violence charge involving allegations by a former girlfriend.
The killing of Metcalf has garnered national attention, including scrutiny of the coverage from legacy media, which routinely highlights and escalates white-on-black incidents. In this case, mainstream outlets were largely silent on the incident, seemingly because Anthony is black and Metcalf is white.
According to eyewitness accounts, the confrontation between Metcalf and Anthony began when Metcalf told Anthony to leave his team’s tented area during the track meet. It’s unclear if Metcalf touched Anthony at all before the stabbing. Witnesses told investigators that Anthony threatened Metcalf, pulled out a knife, stabbed him, and ran from the scene. Metcalf later died in his twin brother’s arms.
Anthony admitted to police that he stabbed Metcalf, reportedly telling officers, “I’m not alleged, I did it.”
The 19-year-old is being tried as an adult and is facing life behind bars.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/free-karmelo-supporters-of-austin-metcalfs-accused-killer-gather-outside-courthouse">‘Free’ Karmelo: Supporters Of Austin Metcalf’s Accused Killer Gather Outside Courthouse</a>

Race Narrative Kicked Into Overdrive After Jury Selected In Austin Metcalf Murder Trial

Crime

A planned production of “Dreamgirls” will have to be canceled after the owners pulled the rights because too many white actors were cast in the show.
According to <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/culture/theatre-dance/article/urlschool-dreamgirls-show-banned-tfnfvqldv">The Times of London</a>, Gillian Banks Theatre School in Yorkshire was granted permission to stage &#8220;Dreamgirls&#8221; by the agency that manages the show&#8217;s rights. But that permission was revoked after it was discovered that only one black actor would be participating.
The musical was written by Tom Eyen and Henry Krieger in 1981 and opened that same year at the Imperial Theater on Broadway. It was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and won six. It became even more popular following the release of the 2006 film adaptation starring Beyoncé. 
The storyline follows a fictional group of black female singers, the Dreamettes, on their path to superstardom beginning in the 1960s.
The theater school responded to the controversy, defending their casting by saying they were open to a “diverse” cast but did not have enough black actors audition.
“We are just a little dance school in one of the most deprived areas of Rotherham trying to give experiences to our students on a very small scale,” it said, per The Times.
The school reportedly only has around 200 students and said there was “never any intention to ‘whitewash’ this production.” Gillian Banks Theatre School had already started selling tickets when the permission to perform was revoked.
Concord wrote in a letter to the school, “Dreamgirls is a show about a time in black American music history when rhythm and blues blended with other styles of popular music, creating a new American sound.”
“It tells the story of the Dreamettes and celebrates their rise to fame, echoing similar trajectories of iconic black girl and boy groups of the time like the Supremes, the Marvelettes, the Temptations and the Shirelles. Your production should be appropriately cast to represent and reflect these artists and their history.”
This update comes as the topic of race-swapping traditionally white characters continues to make headlines. The upcoming Christopher Nolan epic, “The Odyssey,” has drawn criticism for the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, among other stylistic choices. 
It was also just announced that actress Quinta Brunson will star as Betty Boop in an upcoming film adaptation. Disney’s big flop “Snow White” included Colombian actress Rachel Zegler in the titular role despite her not physically resembling the character’s description in literature.

Dreamgirls

Agency Yanks ‘Dreamgirls’ Over School’s Mostly White Cast

School Casts Too Many White Kids In 'Dreamgirls,' Agency Yanks Rights To The Show

Entertainment

Theater

United Kingdom

It was <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/news/quinta-brunson-betty-boop-movie-1236754550/">announced this week</a> that actress Quinta Brunson will star as Betty Boop in an upcoming film adaptation, sparking spirited discussion over Hollywood&#8217;s trend of casting traditionally white characters with actors of different races. 
Daily Wire host Matt Walsh criticized the decision after Discussing Film shared the announcement on social media.
“There is only one reason to bring back an iconic piece of Americana just to race swap it like this,&#8221; Walsh wrote. &#8220;Even a faithful Betty Boop reboot probably wouldn’t sell many tickets. A race swapped Betty Boop has absolutely no chance of success. But they do it anyway out of spite.&#8221;
Walsh later claimed the account blocked him and disabled comments on the post after the backlash intensified.
“This is a pretty interesting way to have a discussion about film,” he wrote in a follow-up post.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The account “Discussing Film” turned off the comments and then blocked me. This is a pretty interesting way to have a discussion about film. <a href="https://t.co/XIrQNOiL4w">pic.twitter.com/XIrQNOiL4w</a>
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/2057435837244035415?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Daily Wire host Michael Knowles also weighed in on the controversy during his show on Thursday.
&#8220;Betty Boop is a white lady. And it changes the story if you try to change that,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re told that race doesn&#8217;t matter. It&#8217;s a social construct. It&#8217;s totally meaningless. So all the white characters can and really should be played by black people or Hispanic people or just non-white people. But surely no one&#8217;s ever casting Tom Cruise to play Malcolm X in the autobiography of Malcolm X.&#8221;
As the controversy lit up online, many commenters argued that Betty Boop was actually based on a black woman, but even the left-leaning outlet PBS admitted that is a misrepresentation. 
“A short item promoting PBS’ Black History Month programming suggested the Betty Boop cartoon character was based on a black performer of the Jazz Age,” the outlet <a href="https://www.pbs.org/publiceditor/blogs/pbs-public-editor/betty-oops/">posted</a> in 2021. “That’s not entirely true.”
The outlet noted that Betty Boop is widely believed to have been inspired by jazz performer Helen Kane.
Betty Boop debuted on August 9, 1930, in the Fleischer Studios cartoon short “Dizzy Dishes,” in which she appeared as an anthropomorphic dog. Kane later sued Fleischer and Paramount Pictures in 1932, claiming Betty Boop was a “deliberate caricature” of her “baby vamp” persona, the outlet noted.
Despite these facts, there are plenty of commenters who insist Betty Boop was inspired by the black singer Esther Jones, or, at the very least, that Kane was ripping off Jones the whole time, thereby indirectly contributing to the creation of the character.
Brunson, best known for creating and starring in ABC&#8217;s “Abbott Elementary,” is developing and starring in the film adaptation through her company, Fifth Chance Productions, which teamed up with Mark Fleischer, who is the grandson of Betty Boop creator Max Fleischer, according to a Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/news/quinta-brunson-betty-boop-movie-1236754550/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>. 
The outlet noted that the movie will trace the origin and evolution of Betty Boop through the perspective of her creator.
“Betty Boop is one of our nation’s most beloved cartoon characters, yet somehow still remains pleasantly niche,” Brunson wrote in a statement. “She has had a quiet but undeniable impact on culture for nearly a century. After Erin and I met with Mark and learned more about his grandfather’s creation of Betty, I realized there was a much deeper story to tell. One that could be explored in a way that feels refreshing, subversive, and timeless, much like Betty herself.”
Fleischer said, “When Quinta first approached me with the unique concept of a movie about the relationship of my grandfather, Max Fleischer, and his creation, Betty Boop, I was breathtaken. Quinta so embodies Betty’s love of life, intelligence, humor, sassiness and compassion that the relationship between her as Betty and Max burst into life at its mere mention.”

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